It snows about 2-3 days every year in GA, but usually not until March or so. It came early this year, and it actually stuck for about 5 days causing nasty ice patches everywhere. It was crazy cold! My car was snowed in because I didn't have a snow shovel (who owns a snow shovel in GA?). All of the schools were closed for a few days and even Cameron's work (which never gives him ANY days off) had to close down. It was a fun family snow day!
I am officially done blogging for 2009! (Pay no attention to the fact that it is Jan 18th.) Here are the pictures that our family took for Christmas pics...we had trouble deciding which ones we likes since there truly are no GREAT ones. How is it going to be taking a pictures with 5 next year? CRAZY! We loved the ones by the lake, but we had already taken the other PICTURES at Thanksgiving, and sent out the cards by the time we took these. Bummer. I am proud to say however, that I finally am going to print this blog into a book! WOOHOO! It's been two years since I started and I am ready to start making it a habit of printing every year. What better way keep an acount of my children's lives? I love it! I know picking up a pen and paper would be just as easy, and much cheaper, but since when do I do things the easy way? Oh and FYI: I am 5 month pregnant (looking like 7) so...yes I am a little puffy all around...be nice!
The Georgia Mount clan at Grandma and Granpa's lake houseThe new boat! The kids are in heaven, especially Syd!
This girls hair is everywhere, and her poor little broken arm is so sad. I love this pic though.
The two greatest toys EVER! My kids received plenty of gifts this Christmas, but these are the two that they can NOT EVER get enough of.
Thanks Mom and Dad for the bouncy house that will NEVER get old and will last YEARS! It is AWESOME! My friend came over the other day with her kids and the first thing she said was, "you are going to have some awesome birthday parties with this thing". I agree! We will test it out in a few weeks for Dylan's 4th birthday party. We can't wait. Thanks again for the PERFECT gift! With the winters being so cold lately, it is the perfect for getting energy out and it fits great in my basement. Love it!Aunt Karen sent these blocks to the kids and I have to admit, they even have me captivated. They are so much fun to play with! Dylan is constantly making hotels, condos, and most of all, princess castles. Funny kid. Thanks Aunt Karen! These were a HIT and will last throughout the years.
We had one last day at the parks, but after a long, fun, tiring week, we decided to just wake up and drive home. We were planning on going to Epcot for a few hours before driving, but it was rainy that day, and Dylan had proven to us that he was done with all of the madness. Here is a quick story to explain:
On the morning of the 5th day, D woke up at 5:30 screaming for a treat and some popcorn. We tried to calm him so he wouldn't wake Sydney, but he was hysterical. He was tired, and the crying lasted for about an hour. Cameron and I were exhausted and frustrated with this of course, and so it was at that point that we knew going to the parks would probably not be a good idea. We started packing our things, and Dylan continued to throw fits left and right about popcorn, cheese, clothes, and really, anything and everything. (It was at this point that I wish I would have just given in, but we had to stand our ground, right? Who knew it would last another couple hours?) He was as whiny as I hav EVER seen him (even ask G-mama she was there to witness the craziness). After we had everything packed up in the car we try to get dylan dressed. Wow, you would think that we were murdering the kid. What horrible parents we were to get him dressed! Cameron was done putting up with Dylan at this point and so the real story begins:
I look over and Cameron sternly is asking Dylan to pick up his sock which is 12 inches in front of him. Dylan leans over and starts playing with the sock in his fingers but continues to cry and say, "I can't reach it". (Can you visualize it?) Cameron then starts counting to three for a spank and Dylan doesn't budge. He's bent over touching the sock but will not pick it up, so Cameron proceeds with a spank. Dylan sits up and yells, "ow" then bends back down to play with the sock again as Cameron says, "pick up the sock Dylan". "But I can't", he whines, and so the pattern continued...again, and again, and again, and again. It was terrible, but at one point after about the 7th spank I just broke out laughing, and I couldn't stop. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen...Dylan was as stubburn as ever, and Cameron would not give it up. All of us were tired and cranky and just ready to go home. We got out things together, (I finally stepped in and put on the dumb sock), and we drove home as fast as we could. We were sad to have missed Epcot, but we were ecstatic to be on the drive home, with our Disney toys from Grandma Minnie and Maria, and with TCBY on the way, yum! It was an awesome trip, perfect length, perfect company, and perfect condo! Did I also mention that Sydney's language, sleeping, and eating habits completely changed on this trip? She ate like a champion ALL day, she slept through the night every night with Dylan in the room, and she learned to say apple, ear, mouth, happy, eye, etc. Since coming home her language has taken off, it is incredible! There are so many things to take home from this trip, and I am so grateful! We are so thankful for the Mounts and the Grand Mounts who so graciously shared their time shares with us and helped us with the tickets! It truly was a Christmas to remember! Thank you guys!
Side Note: The trip was great until we got home and it was freezing outside. We went to open the door, and of course, no keys! We had been driving for 9 hours and we couldn't get inside our house. I sat in the car with the kids while Cameron went through every bag. We even called Jason to use his spare that we thought we had given him and he couldn't find it. We were stuck! So we said a prayer in the car and I opened up one of the consoles (which we had looked in previously about 3 times) and there they were! Woohoo! We thought it was exciting until we walked into the house and found our kitchen flooded. We ran downstairs to the basement and yes, that too was flooded. What an end to the day eh? The faucet upstairs had leaked through the walls and the ceiling downstairs onto the floor. The carpet has finally been replaced, but we are waiting on kitchen flooring since the insurance is not given us enough money to fix it yet. Urgh! Here are a few pics, I didn't take much of when it was torn up because I wasn't here for a couple days. This is just what we have (We had our big bouncy house spread out across the floor downstairs so it held a lot of water and kept the ground from being too saturated, but sadly it was still moldy by the time we came home, so it all had to be replaced. Shmrr!)
On day four we decided to go back to the Magic Kingdom since this is where Dylan and Sydney enjoyed their time the most. The rest of the family went to Epcot but we wanted to come here since we weren't sure if we would be able to come back in the morning (because of rain). We woke up early (since it was New Years Eve and all of the parks had closed by 12pm each day due to full capacity). We were there early enough and again, and were able to go on a BUNCH of rides before the crowds hit. Dylan was a bit more hesitant to go on the bigger rides for some reason. (I think its because we took him on all of the scary rides at the other parks...oops!) Dylan went on Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain a few times each but he pulled our arms around him this time when he was scared. He actually said no to going on Splash Mountain one last time at the end because of the scary eyes (note that it wasn't the drop that scared him!). (We didn't take a whole lot of pics this day, sorry :( )
Here is Dylan trying to wake up, as you see, the excitement of it all has worn off a bit to where we were pulling him out of bed rather than trying to keep him in bed. He was exhausted!
Check out their sweet jackets that they got from Santa this year. Syd looks like a pink lady!
We went on a lot of the more mild kids rides on this day. the T-Cups is one in particular that I continue to ask myself, "what was I thinking?" The baby girl in my tummy wasn't a fan of this ride, but the one in my lap loved it!Mickey Blue eyes! What a stud! Mommy and DD at the exit ready to leave! We left in the afternoon as the crowds were just getting ridiculous, Dylan had done absolutely EVERYTHING, and the kids were ready to swim at the condo. Too bad we got lost in the parking lot for 35 minutes trying to find our car. Idiots! Cameron wanted to pose with his gamer shirt on to advertise his podcast on Sarcasticgamer.com What a geek!
Here Dylan is showing how much "fun" he is having by screaming. So cute! He does look a bit scared doesn't he? He still tells me every once in a while, "mommy I want to go on Thunder Mountain and scream to show you how much fun it is".
We went home that afternoon to go swimming with the family and you wouldn't believe what happened!? Grandma and Grandpa taught D how to swim! I have been trying for months but I was forgetting a couple of simple instructions, "keep your head down and butt up". He was swimming in no time between all of us. I couldn't believe it! He was even coming up a couple of times for air. We need to keep practicing but he is well on his way. WOOHOO! Thanks gamma and gampa!
We ended the evening with an adult dinner at the Cheescake Factory for Heidi's birthday. All the kids were left at home with the older ones and so we were able to have a break after such a long week. It was a great night with lots of YUMMY food.
This was one of my favorite parks, definitely my favorite day overall. There were tons of fun shows, lots of fun rides, and lots of places for me to sit and rest! After two days of waking early and walking nonstop, my pregnant belly and I were T-I-R-E-D! I enjoyed this day most of all because as you will read, we did A LOT of awesome things!
Here we are at the entrance to get into the park. I think most of these people ended up in the one line that we decided to go to first, the new Toy Story shooter ride. It was awesome! I wanted to go again but the lines were crazy...maybe next time!In line at the Toy Story ride with all the kiddos (except the Curtis's)...Where is syd? Jim and Elaine checking out the Tower of Terror (or just showing us the backs of their awesome shirts). How cute are they? After Cameron had taken Dylan on the Tower or Terror we broke off from the crowd as they continued to go on bigger rides. The Tower of Terror is supposed to be one of the scarier rides, but Dylan did it. He came off the ride and said, "mommy, I don't want to go on the terror tower again, it was scary, and the elevator broke." Cameron said he didn't make a sound the entire time, no crying or fussing, but in the end just said he didn't like it. Are we traumatizing him and not even knowing it? Ugh, but he is so good and willing! After breaking off we went to see The Little Mermaid (which we all loved), and a stunt show that Dylan loved, The Beauty and the Beast (ehh), and The Playhouse Disney Show. On the way out we found some Power Rangers striking a pose. Cameron had to pose next to Star tours. Dylan loved this the first time, but for some reason wouldn't go again. Strange. Who knows the name of this thing that they are sitting on?
Dylan poses with the Little Einsteins after the show. He is trying to give a thumbs up...can someone teach this kid which finger is which?
We got front row tickets to the Indiana Jones show since the three kids (Logan, Maddie, and Olivia), were kicking off the show. I think they yelled into the mic something like, "ACTION!". Shar of course volunteered herself to be laughed at by the entire crowd (she is so BRAVE). She had a big role in the show by ooing and ahhing and being overly dramatic. She stole the show! (I am so surprised that they didn't hire her on the spot!)On the way out daddy decided to splurge and get Dylan a $10 Mickey ice cream cone (Not really ten, but close enough for me to have said NO all week) . That is so what daddy's are for right? He couldn't be happier! On the way home the kids were so excited that I had to take a pic. They had enjoyed a great day at the park, and were now headed back to the condo for some swimming! FUN!
Our Condo had the coolest pool with three water slides and a big lava mountain in the middle spewing water. It was sweet! Oh and the water temp was like bath water which was awesome since it was so cold. It was perfect!We ate at the Rainforest Cafe for the first time ever. It was fun and definitely an experience. The animals came to life, there was thunder and there was much choas. A Mount meal for sure! Dylan was terrified of the snake coming down from the ceiling. Best Friends!We all splurged on the "VOLCANO!"
After Dinner, Elain, Coco, and Jim took the kids and let Cameron and I go back to the park to see The Osborne Lights and Fantasmic. \The lights were amazing, and something that I have desperately been wanting to do from the moment we found out that we might be coming to Disneyworld during Christmas. When Cameron and I first saw them I was in such awe. Minutes after we arrived a song began to play and the lights were synchroniced to "dance" with the music. I am not sure why I was so moved at this moment, but tears began to swell as I watched this amazing display of lights dancing around me. I couldn't get over how incredible the moment was. Couples and families were gathered together spinning around watching this awesome sight. They all had such huge smiles on thier faces, and they were filled with such joy and wonderment. It was a moment. It was THE moment I won't forget about the entire trip. Thanks for making it happen Cameron, we almost didn't make it!!We concluded the night with Fantasmic. This was a show that I had always wanted to see gowing up but never stopped to watch since I had so many other siblings who wanted to go on big rides. It was everything I had expected and more. I kind of wish Dylan had been there with us, as it had all of the Disney Characters involved, but it was a great night to spend alone with my baby. It truly was MAGICAL!
I am a SAHM who started this blog as a way to journal about our everyday lives. There are so many sweet moments that I don't ever want to forget, and so I write. Some may judge or hate me for being so honest, or for my parenting techniques, while others might learn a thing here or there. I am just me, open and honest, doing the best that I can. Motherhood is hard and it is a learning process. Hopefully my kids will look back and read this years from now and laugh at all that they put their parents through.
1)I am a Gemini 2)I thought I was going to be eaten by a shark at age 11…I have a huge scar on my leg to prove it 3)I exaggerate and say things I shouldn't when I am nervous 4) I have always wanted to be in a choir 5) My greatest fear is to not be important to those I love 6)I didn’t go in the ocean for about 5 years…refer to number two 7)I LOVE picking (zits, hairs, nails, anything really...nasty I know) 8)I make smoothies at least once a day 9)I am still afraid of the dark (only when I am completely alone) 10) I hate feeling stupid 11) I bite my finger nails 12)I grind my teeth when I sleep 13) I am VERY opinionated but I refrain from sharing it (most of the time) 14) I love art, but I suck at it 15) I have accidentally peed in public at least 10 times since the age of 8 16) I have a real drinking problem that has nothing to do with alcohol 17) I can’t keep my sneezes quiet 18) I have never liked my hair 19) I am OCD about melted ice cream 20) I nannied Rob Lowes nephews in college 21) Met Terri Hatcher for a job and Cameron couldn't resist talking to her about her Seinfeld "real and fantastic" role 22) Some of my friends call me cheap, mostly because its true 23) I am almost unbeatable at Dr. Mario 24) I have witnessed two seperate deaths 25) I love Tae Bo 26)I am addicted to all sports 27) I am terrified of snakes 28) I sing and make up my own lyrics when I am alone 29)I was born on my mothers birthday 30) I broke my back water skiing at age 12 31) I have had 12 moles removed 31) I actually prefer silence to music (especially with two kids, how on earth did Cameron marry me?) 32) the piano is my favorite instrument 33) I was voted most inspirational in college (on my volleyball team) 34) If I were a boy I would have been Brady West 35)I am really shy upon first meeting you (I know, who would have thought right?) 36) My sister is “my person” 37) I cry often when I am moved 38) I am getting quite good at forgiving everyone but myself 39) I am a BEAST when I am tired 40) I have stood at the top of the stairs with a knife threatening to hurt whoever was in my house on more than one occasion 41) I am allergic to deodorant 42) I am going to be an Labor and Delivery Nurse one day 43)My biggest pet peeve is inappropriate cell phone use 44) I get overwhelmed easily (why do I have three kids again?) 45) I hate being misunderstood 46)I thrive on spontaneity 47) I broke my arm falling off a skateboard (from the sitting position) 48) I love self help books 49) I hate public speaking 50) I have superhero strength when I a disaster strikes…seriously 50) I have had 4 piercings 51) I have always gotten out of my speeding tickets 52) I love Christmas music 53) My love language is quality time 52) I have had Pityriasis rosea 53) I broke my friends arm in 6th grade letting go of her at the skating rink *oops* 54) I tap dance in place when I am bored 55) I like to self diagnose...its a problem. 56) I think feet are the ugliest part of the human body 57) I am Young Women's president in my church 58) Laughter is my therapy 59) My kids are the cutest kids on the planet 60) I have a problem with locking my keys in the car 61)I backpacked Europe for nearly three months after living in Portugal and playing semi-professional volleyball 62)I sucked my index finger as a kid until they had to put a metal contraption in my mouth to get me to stop...this is the same finger that Sydney sucks on 63) I don't like animals,(In high school, I had to bring my dog by myself to the pound to be put to sleep, I have never recovered) 64) nothing makes me feel more sick to my stomach than running over an animal in the street 65) People who wink a lot freak me out 66) my favorite piece of furniture is my bed 66) My most treasured object in my home is the Starry Night painting my mom painted 67) I have purposely called 911 twice in my life 68)I don't eat breakfast 69)I have cheated death twice 70) I have driven in an ambulance 71)I have had lice 6 times in my life (I shared helmets in softball) 72)I have severe anxiety which makes me a bit crazy at times (refer to 78) 73) I am very sentimental 74)I hate when I can't do something physically 75)I absolutely hate raisins, they look wrong 76)I can't multi task 77)I was voted most athletic in my high school 78) I am a kid at heart and am kinda spazzy (to the point that people sometimes question weather I am drunk or not) 79) I am obsessed with Sees Bordeaux and select truffles (the raspberry, key lime, and lemon, yumm!) 80) I love sleeping just so I can dream...my dreams are good! 81) My favorite candies are tootsie rolls.
It snows about 2-3 days every year in GA, but usually not until March or so. It came early this year, and it actually stuck for about 5 days causing nasty ice patches everywhere. It was crazy cold! My car was snowed in because I didn't have a snow shovel (who owns a snow shovel in GA?). All of the schools were closed for a few days and even Cameron's work (which never gives him ANY days off) had to close down. It was a fun family snow day!
The Georgia Mount clan at Grandma and Granpa's lake house
The new boat! The kids are in heaven, especially Syd!
This girls hair is everywhere, and her poor little broken arm is so sad. I love this pic though.
Thanks Mom and Dad for the bouncy house that will NEVER get old and will last YEARS! It is AWESOME! My friend came over the other day with her kids and the first thing she said was, "you are going to have some awesome birthday parties with this thing". I agree! We will test it out in a few weeks for Dylan's 4th birthday party. We can't wait. Thanks again for the PERFECT gift! With the winters being so cold lately, it is the perfect for getting energy out and it fits great in my basement. Love it!
Aunt Karen sent these blocks to the kids and I have to admit, they even have me captivated. They are so much fun to play with! Dylan is constantly making hotels, condos, and most of all, princess castles. Funny kid. Thanks Aunt Karen! These were a HIT and will last throughout the years.
It was an awesome trip, perfect length, perfect company, and perfect condo! Did I also mention that Sydney's language, sleeping, and eating habits completely changed on this trip? She ate like a champion ALL day, she slept through the night every night with Dylan in the room, and she learned to say apple, ear, mouth, happy, eye, etc. Since coming home her language has taken off, it is incredible! There are so many things to take home from this trip, and I am so grateful! We are so thankful for the Mounts and the Grand Mounts who so graciously shared their time shares with us and helped us with the tickets! It truly was a Christmas to remember!
Check out their sweet jackets that they got from Santa this year. Syd looks like a pink lady!
We went on a lot of the more mild kids rides on this day. the T-Cups is one in particular that I continue to ask myself, "what was I thinking?" The baby girl in my tummy wasn't a fan of this ride, but the one in my lap loved it!
Mickey Blue eyes! What a stud!
Mommy and DD at the exit ready to leave! We left in the afternoon as the crowds were just getting ridiculous, Dylan had done absolutely EVERYTHING, and the kids were ready to swim at the condo. Too bad we got lost in the parking lot for 35 minutes trying to find our car. Idiots!
Cameron wanted to pose with his gamer shirt on to advertise his podcast on Sarcasticgamer.com What a geek!
Here we are at the entrance to get into the park. I think most of these people ended up in the one line that we decided to go to first, the new Toy Story shooter ride. It was awesome! I wanted to go again but the lines were crazy...maybe next time!
In line at the Toy Story ride with all the kiddos (except the Curtis's)...Where is syd?
Jim and Elaine checking out the Tower of Terror (or just showing us the backs of their awesome shirts). How cute are they? 
After Cameron had taken Dylan on the Tower or Terror we broke off from the crowd as they continued to go on bigger rides. The Tower of Terror is supposed to be one of the scarier rides, but Dylan did it. He came off the ride and said, "mommy, I don't want to go on the terror tower again, it was scary, and the elevator broke." Cameron said he didn't make a sound the entire time, no crying or fussing, but in the end just said he didn't like it. Are we traumatizing him and not even knowing it? Ugh, but he is so good and willing!
Cameron had to pose next to Star tours. Dylan loved this the first time, but for some reason wouldn't go again. Strange. Who knows the name of this thing that they are sitting on?
Dylan poses with the Little Einsteins after the show. He is trying to give a thumbs up...can someone teach this kid which finger is which?
We got front row tickets to the Indiana Jones show since the three kids (Logan, Maddie, and Olivia), were kicking off the show. I think they yelled into the mic something like, "ACTION!". 
Shar of course volunteered herself to be laughed at by the entire crowd (she is so BRAVE). She had a big role in the show by ooing and ahhing and being overly dramatic. She stole the show! (I am so surprised that they didn't hire her on the spot!)
On the way out daddy decided to splurge and get Dylan a $10 Mickey ice cream cone (Not really ten, but close enough for me to have said NO all week) . That is so what daddy's are for right? He couldn't be happier!
On the way home the kids were so excited that I had to take a pic. They had enjoyed a great day at the park, and were now headed back to the condo for some swimming! FUN!
Our Condo had the coolest pool with three water slides and a big lava mountain in the middle spewing water. It was sweet! Oh and the water temp was like bath water which was awesome since it was so cold. It was perfect!
We ate at the Rainforest Cafe for the first time ever. It was fun and definitely an experience. The animals came to life, there was thunder and there was much choas. A Mount meal for sure! Dylan was terrified of the snake coming down from the ceiling. 
Best Friends!
We all splurged on the "VOLCANO!"
\
The lights were amazing, and something that I have desperately been wanting to do from the moment we found out that we might be coming to Disneyworld during Christmas. When Cameron and I first saw them I was in such awe. Minutes after we arrived a song began to play and the lights were synchroniced to "dance" with the music. I am not sure why I was so moved at this moment, but tears began to swell as I watched this amazing display of lights dancing around me. I couldn't get over how incredible the moment was. Couples and families were gathered together spinning around watching this awesome sight. They all had such huge smiles on thier faces, and they were filled with such joy and wonderment. It was a moment. It was THE moment I won't forget about the entire trip. Thanks for making it happen Cameron, we almost didn't make it!!
We concluded the night with Fantasmic. This was a show that I had always wanted to see gowing up but never stopped to watch since I had so many other siblings who wanted to go on big rides. It was everything I had expected and more. I kind of wish Dylan had been there with us, as it had all of the Disney Characters involved, but it was a great night to spend alone with my baby. It truly was MAGICAL!
